Coinbase and Circle form JV to support adoption of fiat stablecoins

Cryptocurrency companies Coinbase and Circle have formed a joint venture (JV), CENTRE Consortium, to boost the adoption of fiat stablecoins through a governance framework and network.

The JV will focus on building interoperable protocols and standards required for fiat currency to work over the open internet.

As part of the alliance, Coinbase has announced the availability of Circle’s USD Coin stablecoin (USDC) for its customers on Coinbase apps and Coinbase.com. It will be soon launched on Coinbase Pro too.

USDC, which was recently launched, is an open, fungible and interoperable fiat stablecoin. It represents a single US dollar (USD) and does not fluctuate relative to its reference currency value.

A statement from Coinbase read: “Each USDC is 100% collateralised by a corresponding USD held in accounts subject to regular public reporting of reserves.

“The underlying technology behind the USDC was developed collaboratively between Coinbase and Circle, in our capacity as partners and co-founders of the new CENTRE Consortium.”

Coinbase customers, in supported jurisdictions, will now be able to buy, sell, send and receive the USDC stablecoin. The firm plans to make the service available across other geographies in the future.

The cryptocurrency company said that the benefit of a blockchain-based digital dollar such as USDC is easier to program with, to send quickly, to use in dApps, and to store locally than traditional bank account-based dollars.